April 06, 2007

Cover to Cover: Déjà vu All Over Again

A Crisis of Infinite Homage Covers!

Comic book covers based upon famous images, from other comics or elsewhere, are commonly referred to as “homage covers”. As the term implies, homage covers pay tribute to revered “touchstones” of comic book, pop cultural or even “real world” historical imagery. They also provide a sense of fun and community, as seasoned fans recognize the visual as the hat-tip, the nod, the gentle satire or the arcane “in-joke” knowledge it was intended to be.

One of the most prevalent homage cover themes is sometimes referred to as the Pieta Cover, a reference to Michelangelo’s famed Pieta sculpture. Depicting the body of Jesus Christ in the arms of his mother Mary, the Pieta conveys a sense of quiet grief and profound helplessness in the face of death.

Of course, the most famous of the Pieta homage covers was Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 (1985), depicting a grief-stricken Superman cradling the dead body of his cousin Supergirl as a throng of helpless superheroes looks on.

Crisis #7, in turn, inspired dozens more homage covers, though many more Pieta Covers came before it. Without further ado (or commentary), I present the Pieta Cover Gallery. Click on the link below and enjoy....

Comments

Comics are repleat with variations on the "carrying an insensate body" cover image, but the only true Pieta hommages I know of are the Captain Atom cover you started with, and Harbinger #14.

The rest are people carrying people, and I'm sure they would have been carrying them regardless of Pieta. Or maybe it's just a matter of multi-generational copying, where younger artists don't know they're copying a copy. The Crisis cover, for example. There's a definite stageing to any hommage to that one (usually occurs in some kind of canyon).

But Pieta-derived or not, it IS a common cover theme, thanks for posting ALL of these, wow.

Actually, I'm not the one who coined the term "Pieta Covers". I came across the term while searching for Crisis #7 homage covers and, since it's Good Friday today, I thought I'd stick to that angle. Obviously, people holding dead (or wounded) people in their arms isn't an exact thematic overlay...but close enough to make for some fun, lighthearted discussion.

I'm going to have to disagree with Siskoid, because the cover to The Death of Captain Marvel is definitely spot-on Pieta, and lord knows it was intentional. They wanted all the resonance they could get for that one.

Also, the Mighty Mouse cover isn't just an homage to the cover. The entire issue was a parody of the Crisis series, guest starring Bakshi characters from Mighy Heroes and his take on Mighty Mouse. Sadly, no Spider-Ham, despite being a Marvel/Star comic. It seems the writer loved Bakshi's version. Outside of an actual secret identity, I really didn't.